16th Annual Hispanic Heritage Festival
The ºÚÁÏÉçÇø College of the Arts is pleased to announce the 16th Annual Hispanic
Heritage Festival to be held on September 27-28, 2025, in the Vera Lea Rinker Hall on our campus in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The Festival celebrates the panoply of Hispanic artistic culture with music concerts, presentations of visual art, film, and the theater arts. An important part of the festival is the academic conference that includes papers, lecture-recitals, and performances, all relating to the subject of music in the Hispanic world.
We welcome proposals involving all facets of the music of Spain, Portugal, Latin America, and the
diaspora.
Schedule
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Registration (Vera Lea Rinker Hall)
6 p.m. – 6:45
Opening Reception and Greeting (VLR 119)
7:30 p.m.
No Host Dinner at Don Ramon Cuban Restaurant
8 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
Registration (Vera Lea Rinker Hall)
All Sessions held in VLR Recital Hall
Session 1
9 a.m. – 9:25 a.m.
Erikson Rojas (ºÚÁÏÉçÇø)
African and Spanish Influences (or Characteristics?) in the Piano Music of Cuban Master, Ernesto Lecuona
9:30 a.m. – 9:55 a.m.
Sofia Bélen Jaquez (California Institute of the Arts)
Echoes of the Past Through Healing and Sound
10 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Jennifer Ortiz Valverde (Independent Scholar)
Restructuring American Music Theory Pedagogy Through Hispanic Heritage and Culture
Break
Session 2
10:45 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.
Loni White (ºÚÁÏÉçÇø)
A Spirio Showcase: The Piano Music of Juan Pablo Contreras
11:15 a.m. – 11:40 a.m.
Agnieszka Zick and Diana Seitz (State College of Florida,Manatee-Sarasota)
Spanish Poetic Landscapes for Violin and Piano
Lunch at ºÚÁÏÉçÇø Cafeteria (12 p.m. – 1 p.m.)
Session 3
1 p.m. – 1:25 p.m.   David Asbury and Bruce Cain (Southwestern University)
Cantos por la vida â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚  
1:30 p.m. – 1:55 p.m.
Mario Rey (East Carolina University)
Festejo y Cajón: Black Voices in the Music of Peruvian Diasporic Identity
7:30 p.m.
Concert – Sydney Carbo and Muse Duo
Grafico de la Petenera VRL Recital Hall
Performer Registration
Registration Cost:Â $175
Includes light refreshments, lunch on Saturday, and admission to the feature concerts.
Registration deadline September 19
Preferred Conference Hotel:
Hyatt Place West Palm Beach/Downtown
295 Lakeview Avenue
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
(561) 655-1454
Conference Hotel Rate: $134 USD/night*
Please reference ºÚÁÏÉçÇø or corporate ID code: CR42563
*BOOK FAST – Rates are subject to availability. *
Past Performers
Tres Romances Argentinos by Carlos Guastavino – Performed Live by Duo Gastesi-Bezerra
3 Canciones Negras by Xavier Montsalvatge performed by Zaray Rodriguez
Carnaval das crianças by Heitor Villa-Lobos Performed by Caio Pagano
Segundo tento do segundo tom by Manuel Coelho performed by Justin Rubin
Contact Us
If you have any questions or comments, please contact:
Michael O’Connor, Ph.D.
Professor of Music
Director, Hispanic Heritage Festival
ºÚÁÏÉçÇø
oconnom@pba.edu
Eunice Lebron
Events & Auditions Coordinator
ºÚÁÏÉçÇø
561-803-2400 | Eunice_Lebron@pba.edu